Birmingham commission OKs plan for Michigan's third Ducati dealership

Publish Date:

Feb 4, 2013

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – The third time was the charm for a planned Ducati dealership in Birmingham, as the City Commission approved a request to open Ducati of Detroit at the site of a former European auto dealership.

The dealership, which will sell Ducati exclusively, will be the OEM’s third in Michigan. The other two are in Clinton Township and Kalamazoo. The Birmingham store reportedly will be the only one of the three to exclusively sell Ducati motorcycles.

“Both Ducati North America and CK Investments LLC has developed forecast models for retail sales growth within the Detroit metro market, where very little brand representation has taken place over the last twenty years,” a letter from Knoll to the city stated. “The completed forecast based off of today’s models are showing between 100 and 150 new units to be retailed annually within the first three years of operation.”

The dealership will be open seven days a week, with hours varying based on the season and other special events. The letter says peak season hours will be: 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

It was the third time Ducati sought the city’s permission to open a dealership.

Last August motorcycle attorney Daniel Cable, also owner of DJC Motor in Rochester Hills and former owner of a Ferrari dealership, won the city’s approval but the deal fell through because Ducati hadn’t approved a franchise at the proposed site, according to city records. In November a second group led by Charlie Knoll sought permission to open a dealership at another site, but the commission voted that down because the proposal wasn’t specific enough. Noise, particularly the use of a Dyno machine, was also a concern.

Knoll tried again Jan. 28 with a third site in mind, and won the commission’s unanimous approval.